


Beginnings

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: The Symphony of Our Catastrophe [4]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, Erik has Issues, Introspection, M/M, Pre-Slash, Protective Erik Lehnsherr, Short & Sweet, X-Men: First Class (2011)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 22:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19238263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: On the drive back to CIA headquarters, Erik contemplates the feelings Charles inspires in him.





	Beginnings

   It was deceptively quiet this late at night as Erik drove down the long stretch of highway. It was just turning 3am and the CIA headquarters was at least another hour away and he found himself grateful for the peaceful stillness that accompanied the drive. Curled up in the passenger seat next to him, Charles had been asleep for the better part of four hours, head pressed to the glass and arms crossed in front of him, looking decidedly uncomfortable.

   Erik didn’t play any music though he knew Charles wouldn’t mind, instead opting for the gentle hum of the engine and vibrations of metal echoing around them. He kept finding his gaze straying toward the other man, as though needing to check on him between flashes of the streetlamps, a foreign sensation rising up inside him

   It was strange working with a partner. They had been on the road for less then a week, hunting down their first mutant and somehow, Charles had fit himself easily into Erik’s life. It was unsettling if he was honest. Going from being alone almost constantly to having someone next to him, supporting him, working with him…was not as bad as he thought it should be.

   A small paranoid part of him wondered if it was the telepathy. Charles was good with people, that much was obvious from the start, but how much of it was natural charisma and how much instinctual manipulation, was still up for debate.

   His eyes flickered to the other man only to spot a brief shiver move through him. Erik couldn’t help his frown, reaching to click on the heater without a second thought. There was no helping it, he liked Charles, his smile, his confidence, his bright-eyed innocence. The moment he’d been dragged back to the surface and Charles had told him he wasn’t alone and looked at him like he cared whether Erik lived or died, something had formed between them.

   It terrified Erik to no end.

   There was no room in his carefully laid plans for affection. There was no room for compromises and hopeful promises. There was no room for the way his chest would tighten, and his stomach flipped when Charles touched him so casually, as though he weren’t the most dangerous thing in the room.

   He shook his head.

   Charles was a tool to help him capture Shaw. If they survived that…well maybe…no better not to think of it.

   Yet. It was all he thought about.

   For the first time Erik found himself tentatively imagining the future, after Shaw. Charles made him believe that there could be one, that once his mission was done and he’d paid his price there were possibilities for him beyond this.

   A soft sigh filled the air and Erik found himself gazing at Charles once more. He’d shifted in his sleep, head sliding down the window into a position that must certainly be painful. Erik was tempted to wake him, just for a moment, but abstained. Charles would wake of his own accord soon enough and Erik needed to get his head on straight before that happened.

   He had a mission. He couldn’t let himself be distracted. Not until it was all over.

   Though something told him, he wouldn’t be the first to abandon everything he thought he knew because of bight blue eyes, shining optimism, and that gentle smile.


End file.
